Turn Around
by Priestess Aishisu
Summary: Raven has quit the Teen Titans. One year later, a mysterious force (guess who) realizes the Titans need to get back together, and SOON. Time-travel seems to be the only option. RavenCyborg StarfireRobin Beast BoyOC Implied RavenBeast Boy
1. One Year Ago

Priestess Aishisu: Well, I put this up since I'm having major writer's block on Black Hole (I might even pair Andrea with Red X, since I couldn't help but be reminded of her when I watched the episode X). Most of my friends seem to like it!  
Also, there's a reason the style of writing may at first seem different from my usual one. My hand is broken, so I can't do homework, but I still have one typing hand. So, with nothing better to do (there's nothing good on television!) I'm experimenting.

* * *

Even before it happened, you could tell something was wrong.

The Tower was a wreck, things strewn everywhere, signs of a fight everywhere you looked. To get into the details would take forever, but I can tell you it wasn't pretty. Emotions were on edge, and sadly that meant more mistakes were going to be made…

Mistakes which could mean the end—of **everything.**

Or close enough—unless you happen to be a fanfiction author, that is. In which case, said end is more of a beginning.

* * *

It happened in a flash, so quick it was impossible to see coming unless you had spent the last three hours aware that it would happen.

The shouting came at once, four heroes yelling at the young mage who stood facing away from them with her arms crossed, words tripping over one another until the lectures were barely legible. But among them were "How could you?", "You lied to us,!", "Backstabbing witch!", and the likes.

The word 'why' could also be heard several times.

Raven didn't speak. She glared at the wall, waiting impatiently for the chance to speak. But when the words "We are your friends" came up, she could hold her rage in no longer.

**"None **of you are my friends," she snarled with a mixture of sheer bitterness and pure hatred, successfully stunning the other four into silence. "You were **never** my friends."

"That's ridiculous," snapped Cyborg. "Of _course_ we're your friends, you _know_ we are! You're one of us."

"I know no such thing," she hissed, still refusing to look at them. She clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes tightly shut. "I _do_ know that if I _am_ one of you, I've never been treated as such. I've **always** been the outsider. **Always."**

He opened his mouth to argue, but she continued harshly. "All of you treat me like I don't belong, just because I'm a little different! But have you ever thought to try and _understand_ me?"

"No one understands me! No one even _cares!"_ She started to tremble as she opened her eyes again, permitting a single tear—and then another, and another—to fall from them.

"Are you **crying?"** Beast Boy asked incredulously.

"Shut up!" She clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms. "What do you care, anyway?" Her voice rose as she ranted, "None of you have ever cared about me! No one has! My own _mother_ didn't even care about me!"

"That isn't true," Cyborg protested, but she obviously wasn't in the mood to listen. He gave the others a look which clearly begged for help in placating the stubborn sorceress.

"Raven," Robin began, imploring but still authoritative. "If you've felt like this for such a long time—and it seems pretty obvious you have, to feel so strongly—why haven't you said something before? Why do you always insist upon **hiding** everything?"

"That's proof enough that none of you will ever understand me," she hissed, finally whirling around to face him. Blue satin billowed around her before settling gracefully. "I couldn't for your safety, but none of that matters now, because I'm not going to be around to imperil you anymore!"

"You don't mean that!" he gasped.

"Yes, I do," she snarled. "As of now, I officially resign from the Teen Titans."

Her announcement turned the volume, almost earsplitting a few moments before, deafeningly silent. The Titans, loud mere instants ago, stared thunderstruck at the mysterious telepath. At last, Beast Boy chuckled nervously. Starfire and Robin stared, Cyborg glared viciously. How could he laugh at a time like this?

"Y–You're joking…" he trailed off suddenly, glancing around at everybody's expressions. None of them seemed particularly amused. "…Right?"

"Raven, please you can not be serious!" cried Starfire imploringly. "Of course we care about you, and want to understand! You can't leave! I need you! We _all_ need you!"

"You need the psychic, and you need the heroine. What you **don't** need is me as a _friend_. 'Need' isn't the same as 'care about.' I'm leaving, and I don't give a damn about what anybody says."

"You know what?" Cyborg snapped, losing his temper. "You're right, we _don't_ need you. So be a stubborn, cold-hearted **bitch.** Who needs you?"

"Us!" said Beast Boy quickly. "D–Don't listen to him, he's crazy!"

Raven's eyes narrowed and she flicked her wrist, causing everybody to jump. The closet opened, and clothes surged into a dark blue briefcase that was obviously enchanted. Books, soaps, CDs, jewelry, cosmetics, amulets, mirrors, brushes, and more rushed into said briefcase. It snapped shut.

"Well, at least somebody's honest around here," Raven hissed, picking up the briefcase. "I can see where I'm not wanted."

"But you _are,"_ protested Starfire. "We all want you to be here!"

"Well, that's what **you** want," Raven snarled. "And me? I never want to see any of your faces again." And then she was gone.


	2. Broken

Priestess Aishisu: I received three reviews within the first five minutes of putting up the first chapter, and now have a grand total of eight reviews!

**Raventhedarkgoddess: Oh, touchy... Nice start, though. I like it. ******

_Priestess Aishisu: Yes, Raven is very touchy in that chapter. Thank you for reviewing with such astounding swiftness._

**Raven A. Star: What could possibly make this night any better? A TT update by one of my favorite authors, and the newest episode airing. dreamy sigh This is great! Please continue! XD**

_Priestess Aishisu: I haven't updated for a while, but I'm glad you still review as rapidly as you did before I went on a massive Yu_-_Gi_-_Oh streak and forgot all about Teen Titans_…

**BlackShield****: Woah... another monster of terriffic angstyness by Priestess... I admire your skill greatly, friend. Keep writing - and updating is just as lovely...  
  
-BlackShield-**

_Priestess Aishisu: Thanks! And it wasn't even that angsty, compared to most of my Yu_-_Gi_-_Oh fanfictions (then again, Bakura and angst are practically synonymous) You do know I'm Priestess Aishisu now, right? Actually, my favorite name is my **real** name (Adularia. Isn't that a nice name? _

**KageOni1: Heavy. I knew Raven had some problems , and this one has me wondering what had made her so angry. (She's actually my favorite Titan.) Great job1)**

_Priestess Aishisu: Well, if you mean what was the fight about, you wont find out for_…_a long time. A_ **_really_** _long_ _time. Like_…_nine chapters or so._

**nobodyslisteningLP: Very good. Very...uhh... okay, i forogt, but it was still good**

_Priestess Aishisu: ::Eyebrow twitches:: Uh_…_thanks, I think._

**CharmedBookworm: good chapter hurry and update**

_Priestess Aishisu: Thanks._

**BlackStorm: Priestess Aishisu,  
Great chappter! Do I ever say anything else? I'm really boring, aren't I? Whatever. I didn't see anything that different about your writing.  
  
BlackStorm (previously BlackSword6)**

_Priestess Aishisu: You aren't boring! And yeah, I decided not to experiment much_—_when you have the use of one hand, the smartest thing to do is type as fast as you can and take another painkiller._

**Samieko: O...burned!! hehe. Wow..that's really good. Please update soon!  
-Samieko**

_Priestess Aishisu: This is soon! Very soon_…

Priestess Aishisu: We have two new characters. I know they're beautiful and described in detail, but no Mary Sues! The self-insertion is only around for this chapter, and Larissa is there for plot (and so Changeling/Beast Boy isn't left loveless.)  
And no, I am not being vain about my appearance. I was an Iranian model for three years! ::Shudders in disgust:: I hated every minute of it, but we didn't have a cent to our name and one of my brothers is mentally retarded. The other was six.

* * *

"Larissa, what are you so happy about?" Changeling, once-known-as-Beast-Boy, asked, and their newest Titan (though he wasn't that knew, having joined about six months ago) smiled at him.

She had been smiling all day.

She was a tall, willowy girl with twining brown hair that reached her waist and a green dress made of countless layers of translucent, draping green tissue. Her eyes were the same leaf-green hue, her lips and eyelashes naturally apple-red and her skin the color of apple-blossoms. She was an environmentalist with magic centered around nature and a stubbornness that made her perfect for the team.

Lifting a graceful hand, she showed him three tickets. "This is for a concert that's coming up soon," she explained, still beaming in a way that always made Changeling's heart flutter.

"My favorite singer Raven is singing live, and I managed to get three tickets—Starfire and Robin are probably going to be on a date, they won't mind. They're almost impossible to get, but the manager had an allergy that I managed to permanently cure with an enchanted sprig of peppermint."

Changeling nodded knowingly. He knew of the astounding things she could do with plants—charms, potions, paints, dyes, etc. etc. etc. The fact that they would grow out of her scalp whenever she wished helped.

"Is that the girl on Disney Channel?" asked Changeling—he didn't care much, since their tastes weren't the same: she liked Evanescence and she liked Linkin Park, etc. etc, but he was highly attracted to her (duh) and since they were obviously going anyway: he couldn't say no, and Cyborg (though why he was still called that was beyond him, as due to an ingenious cloning device he was human again—but with all the powers of his robot from) would love to see any singer named Raven.

Of course Larissa didn't know that, since they decided not to tell her about Raven—she knew about Terra, and she knew that the founder of the team had been a psychic girl who quit, but they didn't know anything else and there was a lot of 'else' to know.

The last thing she needed to know was that after over a year, Cyborg was **still** trying to find the girl who Larissa was essentially the replacement for.

"No, she's a fairly new singer—except that's been a hit for almost a year. I don't know much about her past, but she used to be a heroine and she's amazingly beautiful—not to mention she writes poetry that makes you cry for hours and the horror movies she acts in give you nightmares for years."

_Used to be a heroine_…Changeling brushed the thought away—it was too ridiculous to even consider. "So she's good?"

Larissa nodded enthusiastically. "She's _amazing._ She was in this one horror movie with great songs. It was about five people—three guys and two girls—being haunted by a demon that lived inside her. One by one, they all disappeared until she was the only one left. She goes into the forest searching for them, but then by this river the demon appears and there are a hundred of them. And they surround her, and she screams—"

Changeling leaned in closer with every word she spoke. He loved the way she told stories, and even with a very loose summary he could picture every word she said.

"And then, in the morning, her friends are searching for her. But all they find is a baby that looks like a cross between her and one of the guys—the one she was in love with, and a scrap of fabric from her shirt lying in the river."

Changeling shuddered in terrified pleasure. That flutelike voice could make any story come to life. "Is there a sequel or something?"

"Yes. I haven't seen it, but I've heard about it. Apparently the baby grows up with the guy Raven—well, her name is Angela in the movie—liked. His name is Sam, by the way. The river where Angela disappeared is supposedly haunted by a tragic spirit who sings every night for her child. One day the girl Victoria goes to the river and meets Angela's spirit—though of course she doesn't _know_ it's Angela. I hear it's really good, and the scene where Sam and the ghost of Angela talk is so tear-jerking they claim it _must_ have been real."

"Woah," Changeling remarked, sincerely impressed. "Sounds really cool. We should see it."

Larissa grinned again, once more causing his heart to flutter. "I was hoping you would say that. Supposedly Raven wrote it herself."

Changeling smiled slightly, picturing Cyborg's reaction if he were to find out that somebody named 'Raven' (especially a poetry-writing ex-heroine) in a romance with another guy.

He himself had been in love (though it was more of a lasting infatuation) with Raven—for about three out of the six years they were a team, in fact—but Cyborg had been in love with her for almost all of them (almost seven years if you count the year they hadn't been a team) and anyway Raven had rejected him.

Besides, he liked Larissa now, and no one would attempt to crush his skull open for that.

* * *

Day. Such a bothersome time.

There had always been numerous times when she desperately wished day would never come, back since before she could remember. No one bothered her when she was asleep.

She liked her life now—she had done so many things with it, and thanks to her powers and stubbornness no one could control her.

Not even Trigon.

She liked who she was, maybe for the first time in her life. Everything would be so perfect, so utterly blissful, if only…

If only she had friends to share it with.

Sighing, Raven stretched her supple body and got out of bed. Walking into the bathroom, she gazed at her lovely reflection with that figure most girls would kill for and that astoundingly pale complexion that was as soft as lily petals.

In the last three years (I forgot to mention, the first chapter was set two years after the most previous Teen Titans episode—whatever that may be on whatever date you are reading this) Raven's appearance had developed considerably, but the most in that year.

Few people would call her 'creepy' now.

She smirked at that thought, picking up a silver-backed brush and beginning to brush out her hair, which could either be considered black with millions of purple highlights or purple with hundreds of black streaks. Anybody could tell it wasn't her natural color, but which of the two colors (black or purple) were natural?

That few people would be able to guess.

_They probably won't even recognize me,_ Raven mused as she filled the hotel's giant tub with water, and sighed at the thought. She pulled off her pearl-gray nightdress and immersed herself in the water.

When she became a singer/actress (though she was a writer/poet first) Raven had demanded that not a single picture of her ever show up in Jump City, her previous home (Larissa knows about her because she was originally from Washington) for at least a year.

The deadline was approaching swiftly, and she had to do a concert in Jump City—one which would definitely be televised, since she had become very famous and her record company had made CDs without her picture and sold it in Jump City.

Just like everywhere else in the world.

_It isn't as if they_ _would_ _come anyway,_ Raven thought as she lathered her hair with Herbal Essences, trying to reassure herself—though she didn't do the most spectacular job at it. _It isn't as if I sing all that rock junk they like_—_I can go to Jump City, do the concert, and leave without any of them seeing me_…

…_Right?_

* * *

Cyborg strummed at his guitar at the edge of the pool, singing softly to himself. "_You're gone away_…_you don't feel me here anymore_…_"_

He sighed and put down the guitar, stretching. His dark muscles rippled and he smiled slightly in spite of the fact that singing always reminded him of _her_.

Eleven months ago—more than a month after she quit the team—he had tried to take his own life, but using a brilliant new invention his friends cloned him a new body exactly identical to his old one.

It was, essentially, the best of both worlds—a truly biological body, and all the strength and powers of his previous half-cybernetic body.

Unfortunately, a biological heart happens to be capable of just as much pain as a cybernetic one is, and the pain didn't leave. So he got into guitar-playing and singing—he was surprisingly good at it, though he sucked at singing hard rock—and now no longer wanted to die etc.

But that didn't mean he would ever stop missing her, stop thinking about her. And after over a year, he was still searching.

* * *

"_Because I'm broken_…_When I'm open_…_and I don't feel like_…_I am strong enough,"_ Raven sang. _"Because I'm broken_…_When I'm lonesome_…_and I don't feel right_…_when you're gone away."_

She smiled, spinning in a circle with grace that made it hard to believe she was wearing high heels. The light silk skirt of her dress swirled around, as did her hair.

_More proof that I love my career_…_I just finished a concert and I'm singing._

Then her smile vanished, because this particular concert—which had, by the way, taken place in Chicago—had been her last one before the already sold-out concert in Jump City.

_This is what I get for being famous all around the damn galaxy!_ she mused, her happy mood a thing of the past. _People on Starfire's planet might listen to my music!_

With a wry smile, she recalled Starfire's 'singing.' _Holy Azar, I hope not._

"Excuse me, are you Raven?"

Raven turned, semi-wary, and her eyes were greeted with the sight of an unnaturally tall exotic-looking tan girl with the grace of a ballerina.

Her eyelashes were too perfect to be real and at the same time too beautiful to be fake, her dark silky hair thick very long. She was dressed in a white tank top and fitted jeans, with simple silver-and diamonds jewelry, and her hand was in a cast.

Raven noticed the pen and piece of paper in her hands and straitened. "All right, do you want an autograph or is this a business offer. You barely look sixteen, you couldn't have legally made a contract."

"No, I'm not even fifteen, but I'm a big fan of yours," she replied. Her accent was a strange mixture of British and Indian. "Can you please sign this?" She handed Raven the pen and paper, and Raven looked at the picture. Her heart ached suddenly—it was a picture of her back when she was a Titan.

Back before…

"I hear your next concert is in Jump City," the girl said as Raven wrote her name with a delicate flourish, apparently trying to make conversation. "That's where the Teen Titans live, isn't it?"

Raven nodded, blinking back unexpected tears as she handed back the now-signed picture. "Not that it matters. It isn't as if I'm one of them anymore or anything ridiculous like that."

"You should be," the girl replied softly, causing Raven's head to snap up.

"Excuse me?"

The girl raised her good hand. "You should be a Titan. You should never have left, though I suppose it's any author's dream. I need to put you in perspective, and I think I know exactly how."

"What are you talking abou—" Raven began, but the girl's cool dry fingertips made contact with her forehead. Magic shimmered around her, and she let out a gasp of pain before everything disappeared.


	3. What Am I Going To Do?

Priestess Aishisu: Well, I received just five reviews, which by my standards really **(really)** reek, but then I guess I _did_ just update a few days ago.

**Raven A. Star: Amazing! Raven became a singer/actress/poet/writer right after she left the Titans! Amazing!  
  
I can't wait to see what happens next! That cliffy at the end with the girl** **using magic on her really got me wanting** **more!  
  
How come you always update whenever an episode of TT just finished airing!? Everytime TT finishes airing here, I go onto my computer and get an alert from you! XD Just is so cool! Makes my nights even better. Keep on going!**

_Priestess Aishisu: Well, it wasn't **right** after, since the first chapter was set over a year after she quit the Titans, but I guess it **is** pretty close.  
And that **is** the purpose of a cliffy_—_to leave you hungry for an update.  
And I wouldn't say I update whenever an episode of Teen Titans just finished, but a new episode that's really good **does** tend to inspire me. (Especially if it's a Raven episode)_

**Samieko: Whoa. Very soon. Yayness! You know, I don't even like the Cy/Rae fics, but this one is just so good! Update!!  
**-**Samieko**

_Priestess Aishisu: When Priestess/Priestess Aishisu/Adularia says she's soon, she means soon! A shame that you don't like Cyborg/Raven, but to each his own. This update probably wont be as soon_—_I am cursed by the evil enemy of all fanfiction writing_—_the thing known as 'school.'_

**KageOni1: Sounds like the new titan is more than she seems to be...anyway, great descriptions, and I'm waiting for the next chapter.**

_Priestess Aishisu: ::Blinks:: She does? Umm_…_Whatever you say then, I guess_…_Because there really isn't_…_Anyway, thanks. And this just so happens to be the next chapter you mentioned._

**BlackSheild: Yeah, I know. Just, whenever I write a review to you, my fingers skip the "Aishisu" out of habit, and I always forget to go back and add it... Besides, though you may no longer be bitter (thankfully), your old account should never have been shut down. You're always Priestess to me, pal. Lmao.  
Oh, right. The story. Well... to be brief, this kind of thing is the reason why you're on my favorites list(s). To take longer, though...  
  
Though self**-**insertion generally irritates me, the promise that it won't last long is enough to make me not care. No offense to you or anything, just... I mostly prefer to keep us authors and the Titans in separate dimensions. Heh. Larissa, I like, and it's an interesting idea that a fan should be the one to snap her out of her "funk" (God I hate that word...). The idea that Raven is famous in itself is original (as all your ideas are), and you pull it off almost surprisingly well **-** though, knowing you, I'm not all that surprised. Your stuff is always top-notch anyway.  
  
Though the length, I could complain about...  
  
Update soon, please.  
  
**-**BlackShield**-

_Priestess Aishisu: ::Blinks at impressive size of the review:: Whoa. Go BlackShield! Yeah, I don't like self_-_insertion either (if I do insert myself, it's usually because I need a character to kill off) but I was just there for that previous chapter.  
There will be mentions of me later on, but they don't even know my name so you can just pretend it was a random supernaturally_-_powered fan and not the author. I mean, if you get sent back in time, wouldn't you wonder how it happened?  
I guess it is pretty original, but I don't like thinking that Raven will go plum­_-_crazy without friends (though, as you will see, she isn't particularly ecstatic about being alone. Just out of curiosity_—_by _**'the length, I could complain about'**_ do you mean it was too short or too long? Also, what does _**'Lmao'**_ mean?_

**Rose: CONGRATS!! YOU HAVE MADE MY TOP TEN FAVORITE RAVEN**-**CENTERED STORIES!! UPDATE!! I DESPISE CLIFFIES! WHO THE HE11 IS LARISSA? i love how you described her!! she sounds so pretty! apple**-**red colored eyelashes! sigh why exactly did raven leave? you're gonna hate me for this but i can't picture cyborg pulling out a guitar and singing a lovesong...omg! i can!! weird image...update!**

_Priestess Aishisu: Larissa is the new Titan (it's been over a year, they were bound to get a new one eventually. I'm surprised they waited seven months) She has powers with nature (plants and stuff) and due to that she's an environmentalist. She also happens to be the girl Beast Boy/Changeling is paired with, because everybody else has someone.  
::Giggles:: Yeah, it is a weird image, isn't it? Keep in mind that he isn't quite as_…**_strange­_**-_looking when he's human_…  
_And about Raven leaving, you'll find out sooner than I planned_…_not this chapter, but the next or maybe the one after that._

Priestess Aishisu: If you didn't notice from the summary, Raven was just sent backwards in time. From now on, the names Raven, Cyborg, and Starfire will all be in either italics or bold The future selves are in bold, the past selves in italic.  
There _are_ exceptions. If they are being thought or spoken, or if both are being referred to ('Cyborg is an orphan'), or if it's a flashback, then there isn't italic or bold (well, flashbacks and thoughts are always in italic, but you get what I mean)

* * *

**Raven** stumbled, falling backwards and barely managing to catching herself in time to keep from hurting herself—not that it would have actually been able to **hurt her**, but still. She looked at the couch she had grabbed onto and her eyes widened.

Glancing around, she realized with disbelief that she was in Titans Tower.

But not the Titans Tower she had left a year ago, a singed wreck damaged to the point of devastation by a fight that had occurred mere hours before. It was the Titans Tower of over three years back, almost two years before everything had changed…

She took a step, tentative, wondering if she was dreaming. As she passed by things, she ran her fingers over them to see if they felt real—they did.

_I can't be **here,**_ **Raven** thought with a rising sense of horror and panic. _I_–_I **quit** the Titans_…_and most of this stuff doesn't exist anymore! It was all demolished_…

It didn't look particularly demolished to her.

**Raven** touched the chair she used to sit on and read, trying to ignore Beast Boy and Cyborg making fools of themselves. She had **seen** it burn, she knew she had.

Before she could think this over, an unexpected noise made her jump and whirl around. She could hear voices that, after all these years, were still painful enough to make her want to cry, and footsteps that were coming closer and closer.

* * *

Nightwing punched the punching bag again. Kick, pivot, punch, dodge, punch, thrust, dodge, kick. When he first learned the routine, it had seemed simple enough, but it did make for rigorous training and it ate up plenty of time.

Which wasn't necessarily bad. It just wasn't necessarily _good_ either.

"Nightwing?"

Nightwing jumped and just barely dodged the swinging punching bag in time. Trying to compose himself, he smiled at the red-haired figure in the door. "Um…hi Starfire. What are you doing here?"

**Starfire**, too, had developed over the past few years. Her outfit was a bit different, her hair was thicker, her pale skin was tanned, her figure had…filled out, so to speak, and her eyes were now always glowing eye-shaped emerald lights instead of green bug-eyes.

She was also less innocent and more fluent than the Starfire we know from the cartoons, though I suppose she's still a bit more innocent than she ought to beif she drinks mustard.

"Well, Cyborg is singing, and Larissa and Changeling are talking about a concert of Larissa's favorite singer, so I thought I might train with you."

Nightwing blushed, but tried to hide it. "Um, sure Starfire. I would love to—" he never finished.

Because before he managed to, the punching bag swung around again. And this time, he didn't remember to dodge.

* * *

"That was _so_ much fun," remarked _Cyborg_ as they ('they' consisting of him, Robin, Beast Boy, and _Starfire_) entered Titans Tower. He shook his head. "I can't believe Raven missed it."

"Yeah," Beast Boy agreed. "I swear, she spends so much time in that creepy room reading that she may as well move to a library—though I suppose it would have to be a haunted library to be creepy enough for her."

They both chuckled, and under the couch **Raven** felt her heart clench. So they taunted her when she wasn't around, did they? But they spoke as if she was still a team member…

"I heard that," said a voice even more familiar than Cyborg and Beast Boy put together, a soft voice that made said heart stop beating altogether.

_Raven_'s birdlike cape swished quietly as she landed, hands on her hips. Her head was tilted to the side, pale face wearing a predictably unreadable expression. "What took you so long?"

Cyborg opened his mouth to reply, but he stopped when he noticed her dark eyebrows knit. "Is something wrong, Reye?"

**Raven**'s heart ached again. _Reye_…Cyborg's pet name for her. How long had it been since she had heard it? Over a year at the very least.

But she it wasn't as if **Raven** had that much time to feel heartbroken—or at the very least heartsick—because of what _Raven_ said next.

"There's someone hiding under the couch."

* * *

**Cyborg** picked up the guitar and stood up, finished for the day. He gazed down at his reflection and sighed.

It wasn't that he wasn't happy to be human again, especially since he could be human and not lose his powers. It wasn't that at all.

It was just that he kept wondering what _she_ would think if she saw him. It wasn't that she wouldn't recognize him or anything like that—she had seen him in his human form before.

But, if she were to see him walking down the street or something, what would she think? Would she be happy for him? Would she even care?

_Quit kidding yourself, man,_ a painfully honest part of his voice told him. _You're never going to see her again, anyway._

* * *

**Raven** held her breath and desperately tried to still the rapid pounding of her heart. _Forget,_ she willed them, trying to summon her powers. _Forget you sensed anything_…Immediately she sensed a block and cursed herself mentally. Of course _Raven_ would be able to block her own energy—and she would recognize it, too.

"All right!" shouted _Cyborg_, and she heard him come closer and sensed him powering up. "Come out with your hands up!"

**Raven**'s strikingly eyes narrowed angrily and, in a rash decision, she kicked the couch away with literally inhuman strength. _Raven _stopped the couch from flying at them as her future self stood up with her hands braced on her hips, glaring at them.

Even if her hair, face, and figure had undergone changes both massive and imperceptible, those sad fierce eyes would never change.

_Cyborg_ gaped at her, glancing from **Raven** to _Raven_ and back again. After about three minutes of this, he cried, **"_Raven?!"_**

"Aw, you remembered me," **Raven** spat, speaking more harshly than she had intended. "I'm touched." She hadn't meant to sound that mean, but it was bad enough having to _hear_ them—especially having to hear them **insult **her—but actually being forced to **see** them?

How much was one person supposed to bear?

_Raven_'s eyes, from under the hood of her cloak, were wide. They were the same eyes—haunted and piercing, a startling but at the same time beautiful shade. "H–How…? Did you…? What…?" She trailed off, swaying slightly. If **Raven** hadn't known herself better, she would have thought _Raven_ might faint.

"Time-travel?" Robin suggested, looking at **Raven** for a confirmation.

"Duh," **Raven** replied, still irritable. Inside, her mind was reeling, searching desperately for some explanation. She felt ill.

"Why are you the only one here?" asked Beast Boy. He was as stupid as always, but I suppose that isn't fair—anybody could have asked that question. They didn't know…couldn't know…

"Because it just so happens that I was the only one there," she retorted, absentmindedly fingering the silver necklace she always wore. She was **not** telling them the truth. There was **no way.**

"Out of sheer curiosity, how far in the future are you from?" asked Robin, tilting his head. Same eyes…similar features…the rest was different. Even her eyebrows were different, the dark dramatic ones replaced by thin neatly plucked ones. Her very fingernails were different, long and shiny with a fresh manicure.

"What's the date?" **Raven** asked.

"October 14, 2004," he replied automatically.

"Two years, eleven months, and eighteen days, then," **Raven** replied, her heart pounding. The very words made her feel ill as the significance of the situation struck her.

_I'm_ _stuck_ _almost three years in the past, no way to get home,_ _surrounded_ _by_ _ex_-_friends who aren't even aware that I'm not one_ _of them anymore._

_What_ _am_ _I_ _going_ _to do?_


	4. A Question Of Happiness

Priestess Aishisu: What's October 19th? Give up? My birthday! Yeah! 

**BlackShield:****Ah, 'tis the question, 'tis it not? Hehehe. Still rather on the shorter side of the spectrum, though. Lmao means, figuratively, laughing my ass off. Heh.  
  
Still liking the story itself, though I'm curious if **Raven**'s gonna be late for her concert. Time travel has been done so many ways **-** can BE done so many ways... Ugh, science was never my strong suit. Can't even spell the damn word half the time. Cries  
  
I like how **Raven** reacted to seeing the others **-** automatically turning on that uncaring feeling, sounding bitter and/or harsh... Very likely, when I think about it. I think thus far you've pulled it off very well. Though I couldn't have expected less from **-**you**-**...  
  
I don't like chocolates **-** I like updates instead!  
I don't like candy **-** I like updates instead!  
I don't like homework **- **I like updates instead!  
Update soon!  
  
**-**BlackShield**-

_Priestess Aishisu: I'm the smartest kid in school and I read Cinderella before I was one. **I** don't like homework. Updates I like, chocolate and candy I usually like. But no one likes homework. No one human, anyway._

**crypticgoddess: O. I like this story. Original. I hope you update soon. I will be waiting (laughs insanely)**

_Priestess Aishisu: Why is everybody laughing like that nowadays? ::Shakes head::_

**Raven A. Star: grins I love time travel stories. XD  
  
I can just picture the expression /Raven/ made when she saw her future self. XD  
  
Awesome chapter. Just what I needed after a long day of school. Really looking forward to the next chapter. :)**

_Priestess Aishisu: School sucks, doesn't it? If you knew my Mediaminer Yu_-_Gi_-_Oh fanfictions, you would know I adore time_-_travel. ::Grins:: Nothing's better than seeing how you're going to be in the future, or seeing how much you've changed since the past!_

**raven2xhh: cool story!! please keep posting more chapters!! i love your writing style!!  
Raven Ann**

_Priestess Aishisu: Actually, I have many writing styles. My Yu_-_Gi_-_Oh fanfictions, for example, are much angstier and higher rated than my Teen Titans ones._

**DarkGoddessRaven: Hey. I am the one used to be known as CharmedBookworm but now I changed my name. Will you read my Teen Titan stories?  
  
Good chapter keep it up**

_Priestess Aishisu: I read them, but I prefer stories when they're Raven/Cyborg to when_…_well, they're not._

**Eilian Rhoss to lazy to log in: This is REALLY good! Please write some more soon! I love the idea of Raven being a singer/writer/actress...tee hee! Keep it up!  
Rae**

_Priestess Aishisu: I love it do. I don't like the idea that Raven would lose her mind without the Titans, even if it is most likely the truth._

**Skyphoenix: Most Excellent! (could've done without the swearing, but that's just me) I look forward to further updates! PLEASE HURRY UP!  
  
Random note: I was listing to BREAKAWAY by Kelly Clarkson while reading... kinda fits..just not exactly dark enough...**

_Priestess Aishisu: I actually did think about using Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway, but like you said_—_not dark enough._

**KageOni1: That flashback must really be tearing RAVEN (I can't do bold in reviews:( ) up seeing her fellow teamates and herself. What I meant in my last eview that I thought that maybe Larissa had forced Raven back in time at ****Chicago**** bfore becoming a titan. Strange logic, i know, but i forgot to reread the chapter and all.**

_Priestess Aishisu: ::Blinks:: All right_…_but it wasn't her. And yeah, it is tearing **Raven** up_…_but the story must go on!_

* * *

**Raven** sighed, desperately trying to fight the urge to use her powers to listen in on the past Titans' discussions. She desperately wanted to know what they were saying, but she knew it would be better for her if she didn't have to know. 

_Why_ _me?_ She wondered bitterly. _I don't want to be a Titan, and nothing some crazy super_-_powered fan says is going to change that!_

With the concert nearing and pictures of her probably going to be everywhere in Jump City, this was really the last thing she needed.

_I don't need the Titans,_ she thought angrily. _I'm **happy** without the Titans_…_I **am** happy, aren't I?_

When she first quit, she was anything but happy. She spent her days lying around in a rundown apartment room without even a bed and writing poetry that would make Satan himself cry his eyes out.

Whenever she saw a newspaper or magazine featuring the Titans, she would scribble each picture out wildly before crumpling the paper up and burning them to ash—she burnt them with magic, since she couldn't afford a fireplace or anything. She could barely afford her own food.

Right outside of her apartment room was a billboard featuring them. Every night she would go out onto the porch and scream obscenities at it. It seemed like a great mockery, being right there. She wanted to destroy it with her powers, but she never did.

Eventually her screams would fade and she would sob uncontrollably until slipping into an exhausted state between sleeping and waking—so she didn't need a bed anyway.

But that state barely lasted over three months—though it felt like three years to her. Even now, sometimes, when she saw a picture or when she was alone with nothing to do…even now, she would remember and have to force herself to keep from crying.

But, mostly, she was happy.

…Right?

* * *

"I still can't believe it," Robin remarked. "It just seems so weird to have two Ravens around. Not that I have a problem with you or anything," he told _Raven_ quickly. "But it's still strange." 

"Yeah," Beast Boy remarked. "Who could possibly think Raven would turn out to be a hottie?"

_Raven_ pointed a magic finger under the table at the same moment as _Cyborg_ kicked Beast Boy's chair over. The result was the green changeling's chair tipping over and him tumbling backwards into the wall.

Getting back to the conversation, _Cyborg_ said, "She seemed angry about something. She was certainly acting like it."

_Raven_ shook her head. "That's just how I deal with being sad or afraid. I can't blow up, and I can't show weakness, so I act like that. It isn't real or anything."

"That's good to know," remarked Robin "But that just makes it more imperative that we get her to her own time, and a soon as possible. Having her in the past may affect the future."

"Do you not remember the future I was shown by Warp?" _Starfire_ requested. "It seems to me that changing the future is a good thing."

"She may have been acting mean, but she didn't exactly seem to have lost her mind," _Cyborg_ pointed out. "Maybe we should just _ask_ her if the Titans are still together."

The Past Titans glanced at one another, including Beast Boy who was getting to his feet. Then they all looked at _Raven_.

"What?"

"Do you think it's a good idea if we ask your future self if the Titans are still together?" Robin pressed, and everybody leaned forward.

Raven crossed her slender arms over her breasts, lifting her chin as her astoundingly purple eyes flashed. "Absolutely not."

"All right then," replied Robin, who had suspected she would say that—and also that she was right. "You ask her."

* * *

"Some world-famous singer is supposed to be coming to Jump City soon," remarked Nightwing as he and **Cyborg** shopped. "Larissa and Changeling have tickets. They might want you to come." 

"And I suppose you and Starfire have a date today?" he asked, a tiny smirk hiding his pain. _Everybody has a girlfriend except me_…

Nightwing blushed and stammered something inarticulate before remembering himself and protesting, "It's not a date! We're just going to see a movie."

**Cyborg** rolled his eyes (that isn't a typo, he's human now remember?) and shook his head, looking away. "Huh. They're putting up a new billboard," he remarked casually, and Nightwing looked.

"It's probably of that singer. For some reason, she insisted when she became a singer that she not have a concert or any pictures of her in Jump City for one full year. Weird, huh?"

"Yeah," Nightwing agreed, turning back to the groceries. "Maybe she was a villain or something and thought we'd forget about her in a year. I'm going to go to the martial arts store, all right? Can you finish this?"

"Sure," **Cyborg** replied absently, still watching the poster be put up.

It was of a slender, pale woman with an intense beautiful face and long purple-and-black hair. She wasn't in a sexy pose or anything, in fact she was wearing a black turtleneck and jeans.

Instead she looked kind of like that woman from Evanescence—Amelia or something (Evanescence rules!)—as she stared out at the city with the most striking eyes **Cyborg** had ever seen.

_Besides Raven's_ _of cour_—

Then his own eyes widened. There was something familiar about those ethereal features, and definitely familiar about those eyes. He blinked as realization dawned on him.

_No_…he thought. _There's no way_…_it can't be._

He stared again at the poster, this way and that, trying to memorize every detail of it. And then he knew that it was.


	5. Total Eclipse of The Heart

Priestess Aishisu: Happy birthday to me…happy birthday to me…happy birthday dear Adularia, (that's my real name, by the way) happy birthday to me! ::Squeezes eyes shut and crosses fingers:: I wish for reviews! ::Opens eyes hopefully and grins:: My wish has been granted!

**azarathian6000: UPDATE! update!UPDATE!plz**

_Priestess Aishisu: Thanks_

**raven2xhh: is the past raven gonna talk to the future raven? if so, how will she take it? poor cyborg!! so lonely!! and evanessance's lead singer is amy lee. i love evanessance!!  
Raven Ann**

_Priestess Aishisu: Yes, I know who Amy Lee is, I just didn't think either of the Cyborgs would know. They don't particularly seem Evanescence_-_y_…

**RavenRulz14: Score! I really like this story! Update soon, or I will hunt you down, and MAKE you update...**

_Priestess Aishisu: I'm not afraid of you! ::Sticks out tongue:: But thanks anyway._

**Raventhedarkgoddess: Excuse my lack of reveiws... I've been reading, but sometimes I forget to press the reveiw button... I'm quite a space**-**case sometimes.  
  
Anyway, I love the story. You're a great writer! And I'm all out of things to say. So... I'll be waiting for an update. **

_Priestess Aishisu: Thanks. You're a great writer, too! _:)

**Raven A. Star: And the plot thickens. XD  
  
I loved how Robin stuck _Raven_ with the task to ask her future self if the Titans were still together. Classic.  
  
And Cyborg from the present time, he finally realizes who the girl in the poster looks like. thumbs up I like! Please continue! **

_Priestess Aishisu: Well, he was the closest to her, and even Changeling suspected something was up_…_And who else to stick the task with, if no one else can do it?_

**DarkGoddessRaven: Good. hurry and update!!  
  
so there is two raven's?  
  
and my story help me is going to turn out to have Cyborg and Raven. Shh, don't tell anyone.**

_Priestess Aishisu: Yes, there is two Ravens. Cyborg/Raven? Yeah! Though it doesn't make a difference if I tell anybody, somebody just has to check my review page_…

**BlackStorm: Priestess Aishisu,  
Wow, intense. Sorry I didn't review the last 2 or 3 chapters, I've been busy. Yes, Evanesence rules, and the singers' name is Amy Lee (don't ask me how I remember that, I just do). Awesome story so far, keep at it!  
  
BlackStorm**

_Priestess Aishisu: As I told _**raven2xhh, **_I know who Amy Lee is, I just didn't think Cyborg would. I mean, really! Do you think he would?_

s**amuraistar: Cool! Please keep at it! (tosses you black**-**for**-**Raven roses)**

_Priestess Aishisu: Thanks!_

**Kage**-**Oni**-**1: Big shocker for Cyborg. I doubt Raven and RAVEN are going to have a real heart to heart.**  
  
**PS**-**STOP blinking after rading my reviews! NO disrespect, but these are some of my first reviews, so they're going to sound stupid.**

_Priestess Aishisu: Big shocker indeed. And they will, just not this chapter. Also, I blink after reading a lot of my reviews. It's nothing personal._

**dark fire chain : awesome!  
  
that was so freakin cool!  
Evanescence rocks!!  
Update soon please!  
  
(i like exclamation i slelled that wrong sorry Marks!)**

_Priestess Aishisu: Thanks. Yeah, I noticed that you liked exclamation marks_…_And Evanescence does rock, doesn't it? It's my favorite band! ::Grins::_

**angelicdhampir2oo4: Wow.. Hey, this story rockz. However.. I'm a serious science buff, so I'm gonna be a little bit of a jerk.. please forgive me! You see, theoretically actual timetravel is impossible. Or at least, traveling back in time in your own universe. You see, for each movement or decision made, according to popular theorum, a universe is created. Essentially, a universe for every possibility, from raven being bright pink, to Cyborg having exactly one more piece of hair on his body than in another universe. Essentially, time travel is only possible through jumping into another universe altogether that spawned at another point. Basically, the diagram is like this-  
  
Diagram a.1  
/  
/  
O  
  
  
this being the normal Titans time line, along with multiple possibilities. However, jumping backward in the same string of time is impossible. Time is linear. So basically, youd jump from Universe A to another spawned point, Universe B that hasn't developed as far as Universe A.  
  
diagram B  
Universe A.  
/  
/  
O  
  
  
Universe B.  
/  
O  
  
  
So uh.. thats how the time thing works. I probably didn't ecplain it to good, but thats the best I can do across the net. If anyone can explain it better than this and fix the mistakes I no doubt made, I'd appreciate it. In any case, this is one of my fave stories. Keep updating! And don't take my scientific neuroticness personal. it just happens!**

_Priestess Aishisu: My IQ is college_-­­_level at age thirteen, I am aware that time travel is impossible. So is being a green_-_skinned shape_-_shifter. And no, she didn't jump back along the same string of time, there is indeed a separate universe.  
'Universe B,' as you described it, is separate from Universe A. If **Raven** decides quitting was a bad idea, that will not mean she never quit. When she returns to her time, the time with the past selves will continue to exist without change.  
In fact, I wrote a Yu-Gi-Oh fanfiction about that on another site_—_because of one single person traveling back in time, that persons' own time stopped existing, and that person became separate from it, because his changes in the past made it that he was never born. Instead of not existing, he now belongs to no universe or time, and can freely live in the different time without fear of affecting the future he came from_—_because that future didn't exist anymore.  
I needed to write a quartet to tie up all the lose ends._

◄§¥§►

**Raven** wondered what the consequences would be if she blew something up, though she decided against it in the end. She didn't like pacing or sitting around—it always resulted in remembering. And being in Titan's Tower didn't exactly serve to help.****

Shutting her eyes both against tears and the sights around her, she got up. Singing and dancing were the only things which always served to get her mind off the Titans, and she had a concert coming up.

She took one step, then another. Her movements were tentative—singing and dancing were easier in an apartment than in Titan's Tower. Raising her arms gracefully, she spun once and stretched her leg to the side so a tiptoe touched the floor to the right of her. She spun again, skirt flaring out.

_It's always so much easier to dance with music_…she mused sadly, but pushed the thought out of her mind and focused on doing the ballet-like movements which she was actually capable of doing without thinking.

"Turn around," she sang, hardly aware that her lips were moving. "Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming 'round."

The words seemed less like sound and more like air, swirling around her body. She loved this song—it was the first she had ever heard on earth.

"_Turn around  
Every now_ _and then I get  
A_ _little bit tired of listening  
To_ _the sound of my tears_"

The movements were coming easier now, more gracefully. The lovely sound of her own voice eased the roar of her thoughts to a gentle hum.

She could get lost in this, and she always did. Her eyes were shut, hair and skirt swirling with her movements. She could hear the music of pianos and guitars as if it were real.

**Raven** had finished the entire song before she realized that she had company—a company of five applauding superheroes, to be specific.

◄§¥§►

He hadn't told them. He hadn't told anyone. The moment he realized who the girl on the poster looked like, **Cyborg** dashed into the nearest music store and sprinted to the counter.

Pointing to another picture of **Raven** (this time she was standing at the edge of a cliff in a periwinkle sundress, wind riffling her hair and skirt as she gazed out with a sad pensive expression. Superimposed behind the image was a close-up of her face and said expression) he gasped between breathless pants, "Who is that?"

The worker, a tall slender teenage girl with long hair and hazel eyes trimmed in thick black eyelashes, lifted a dark brow as if he should have known the answer already. "That's Raven. She's been famous all around the galaxy for a year."

**Cyborg** gaped. "Why haven't I heard of her, then?" he demanded. "There are pictures of her everywhere, but until a couple days ago no one ever mentioned her."

The girl shrugged. "She didn't want any pictures or news of her showing up in Jump City until at least a year after her first CD was released. Apparently she was one of those Titans. She's an amazing singer."

**Cyborg** felt slightly ill. _At least I know there was nothing to worry about_…_she's perfectly happy without us._ "Can I get any CDs?" he asked, wondering just how amazing a singer **Raven** was.

There again was that don't-you-know-**anything** expression. The girl pointed a long slender finger, and **Cyborg** turned to see three rows of massive shelves that were almost entirely empty. Only one was left.

"It has to be restocked every hour, even though the CDs all cost a minimum of twenty bucks," she informed him calmly.

"_Fallen Angel_ is only here because all the songs are Evanescence songs, and some of them are sung with Amy Lee. You can buy it if you want. $49.95 because there are twenty-eight songs and six of them are music videos for DVD or computer."

Walking over, **Cyborg** picked up the CD case. **Raven** was standing on the cover, looking fairly similar to the way she had over a year before she left.

She was wearing what seemed to be a beautified version of an angel's gown—just black. The raven wings of her soul self stretched from her back, and everything about her was dark and ethereal. He could picture Evanescence's lead singer looking exactly like her, for he had seen several Evanescence CDs.

He smiled bitterly. Raven had loved Evanescence. She would be thrilled to sing with her. _I guess she got everything she wanted_—_and here I was worried!_

Going back to the counter, he pulled three twenty-dollar bills from his jeans pockets, staring at the cover as the girl counted out his change. He tucked it into his pockets without looking at it.

He started to leave, but stopped when his inhumanly (literally) keen hearing caught her words.

"You're a superhero," she said softly. "I'm sure you can get someone to give you a ticket to your girlfriend's concert. One of your friends might have one already."

Eyes wide, he spun around, but she was gone. Smiling suddenly, for what felt like the first time in years, he turned and left.


	6. Lies

Priestess Aishisu: I know the elections are over (and I'm very happy about it, too ::eyebrow twitches::) but in this story it's still October, so that's why _Cyborg_ and Robin are still arguing over it. There's really no point to it, I just liked the idea for some reason.

**Raven A. Star: Loved it even though most of this chapter was answers to reviews. Heh...  
  
I love that song! '' I heard it on the radio last night!  
  
sings song while waiting for next chapter to come**

_Priestess Aishisu: I love that song too. I sang it in theater with __Haley Wood. She used to be my friend, but after I beat her in a singing competition, she started telling my deepest secrets to anybody with ears but twisting them horribly.  
(She said I raped someone! Can you imagine? Me and my sister were the ones who_—_you know, I'm going to shut up now. I can tell you the details via email, if you want, but kids might be reading this) I even named some fanfictions after the song, including the three 'Bright Eyes'_—_I named this one after it! ::Hums song::_

**samuraistar: What the crap?! The girl just disappeared? Let me say how so wonderful I think you're making Raven. Her dancing, her lovely voice, her outfits, her pictures, everything!! I wholeheartedly tip my hat to and applaud you!! More roses for you, and I wave my lighter to you!! (Even though I don't really have one, hee hee!) ' Anyway, please keep going!! You write her so beautifully!**

_Priestess Aishisu: ::Smiles at roses and tries to tie one into way_-_too­_-_long hair because it matches dress but fails due to hair being too silky and thick::_

**BlackShield: Sorry I didn't review last chapter. I was experiencing technical difficultites... aka the server was shot. The story is still awesome as always. Cyborg acted so in character, it was almost scary. I like the singing thing that Raven did... your stories are just so... believable. That must be part of why I love them...  
  
And as for the universe thing (which, scarily enough, I actually READ **-** though didn't really understand) and such... I am cowed, astonished, amazed, a little scared, and quite humbled before your incredible intelligence...o0  
  
**-**BlackShield**-

_Priestess Aishisu: At least you're not claiming I cheat like some girls I could mention. The lucky thing is I look about three years older than I am so most people believe I'm just a smart sixteen_-_year_-_old rather than a brilliant thirteen_-_year_-_old_ _who gets grounded for an A_–

**angelicdhampir2oo4: Ehehehe. I thout you'd asked, Sorry! In any case, excellent story... But I've got to go. I'm in class at the moment reading this... And my teacher is about to start yelling. E- mail me some time. I'd like to talk with someone else who is interested in time/ fourth dimension stuffus. Salute!**

_Priestess Aishisu: ::Blinks:: Asked what? I don't remember asking anything_…_sure, I'll email you? What's your email?_

**DarkGoddessRaven: Plans for Help me changed. read Evil when it gets to chapter 10. I have it written down on paper so there will be cyrae. lol.  
  
Good story.  
  
um...is cyborg going to talk to raven?**

_Priestess Aishisu: Which Cyborg and which Raven?_

**TheDarkestGarden: Very good story! Very original idea, I can't wait to read more! I love the connection with evanescence and Raven, lol. Anyways, I cant wait for you to update!**

_Priestess Aishisu: Thanks. Neat name by the way. I could make a fanfiction by that name if I added spaces_…

**Fading Into Darkness: Interesting twist...really unique. Generally speaking, I find it doubtful that people can pull off fics where a character is dramatically changed (like Raven being a singer) but this is one of those moments where I was wrong. You pulled it off excellently. Particularly liked that part at the end with Cyborg in the music store.**

_Priestess Aishisu: Same with your name, no spaces required! And I am very proud of my skill to take something people thought impossible and make a success out of it, whether I myself like it that much or not, like with Raven/Cyborg (one of my biggest prides is being the first to write a Raven/Cyborg)_

**KageOni1: Sorry i was so...annoyed. Must feel good for RAVEN to sing and dance, and raven must be glad to see her future self. however, who is this girl who does this to cyborg an raven? KUTGW**

_Priestess Aishisu: Well, I'm writing, so I'm really the one doing everything. ::Mysterious little smile which those who know me know it means I have a huge secret and am not telling::_

**TheExcellenceOfExecution: Happy Belated Birthday. Great Chapter! I patientlly wait for your next update.  
  
Oh yeah, I hope your hand heals soon. Sorry I'm not there to sign your cast.**

_Priestess Aishisu: Thanks. I'm not getting it signed anyway, since I don't like keeping my hand still long enough for somebody to write on it. One of my best friends did make me a sticker with her name on it and put it on the cast though._

«§¥§»

"Kerry!"

"Bush!"

"Kerry!"

"Bush!"

"Kerry!"

"Don't be a hater, vote for Nader!" Beast Boy said brightly, jumping up between them with a bright and silly grin, only to immediately be yelled at by both.

**"Shut up, Beast Boy!"**

"Sorry…"

"Kerry!"

"Bush!"

"Kerry!"

"Bush!"

"Yo, the dude started a **war,** man!" _Cyborg_ yelled, glaring fiercely at their black-haired leader while Beast Boy slinked away, chastised.

"Better than taking chances," Robin protested.

"He killed something thousand people over weapons that didn't exist!" _Cyborg_ pointed out, metal fingers clenching into two fists.

"And what if they did exist, and he hadn't?" Robin asked. "What then?"

"But they **didn't** exist!" _Cyborg_ protested.

"That's beside the point!"

"How so?"

**Raven** groaned and flung a pillow at the door. "Keep it down in there if you want to live!" she screamed. Under her breath, the purple-eyed enchantress muttered, "I spent months listening to this nonsense already, the last thing I need is to relive all of it."

"You're from the future. Are they ever going to shut up about it?" _Raven_ asked, glancing up from the book she was reading.

"I wish," **Raven** muttered, running a brush through her lovely hair. Tossing it away from her, she stood up. "I'm taking a bath," she snapped. "For all I know the time stream is filthy." _Not to mention I'll go crazy if I spend another second around the old Titans._

«§¥§»

**Cyborg** stared in spite of himself. He had just watched the _Lies_ music video (in his opinion, it was better than Evanescence's, especially since **Raven** and Amy Lee were both better at singing than that guy who had sung in the original version) and it had been amazing.

_I never knew she was such a good singer_…he thought. Of course he knew that in Azarath she had to sing some things, being the High Priestess, but he had never realized she was actually _good_ at it.

She was also a very good actress. She and Amy Lee had both been social outcasts who became fallen angels or something. He knew the part with **Raven** running from an angry mob throwing rocks at her wasn't real, but the blood and tears had looked pretty real to him.

It had been so creepy, watching her dash away from villagers, crying and bleeding, and falling upon a tree to disappear in light. And then the girl Amy Lee was pretending to be went through a similar thing, except it had been in present day—so paper and food instead of rocks, and taunting teenagers instead of angry villagers.

It had been _so_ amazing to see the teenage outcast played by Amy Lee walking to the tree, tears streaming down her cheeks, to be greeted by the majestic image of Raven—flowing black dress and black wings and all—who took her…somewhere.

Astonishing. The emotion, the singing, the special effects, the costumes, the music, every little scene seemed to be specially made to evoke some kind of emotion.

Then, with a start, he realized that he would actually _see_ **Raven**…face-to-face…after over a year…_And then what?_ he wondered. What was he supposed to do then?

He didn't know, but he had to figure it out sooner than later.

«§¥§»

The Titans Tower bathrooms were much smaller than the miniature houses **Raven **had grown accustomed to bathing in. Nevertheless, she turned the tap so the tub would fill with water and began to strip.

She could still hear them arguing. _I_ _hate elections,_ she thought with some anger. _Just a bunch of old white men making ludicrous campaigns against each other by blaming them for this and that while making themselves look good by saying they did this_ _and that._

_And it's even more stupid since the president's going to get assassinated two months after_ _winning._

"_Just what we all need_…_"_ she sang without realizing her lips had begun to move. "_More lies about a world that_…_never was and never will be_…_"_

She didn't keep singing. That had actually been one of her favorite songs to sing, the reason being that she had seen the Evanescence music video for it and it eerily reminded her of herself.

Though she had been a heroine, not a model, and she had never needed her fist to break a mirror.

When the water was at a desirable level, she climbed in and sighed in pleasure as the warm water enveloped her slim frame.

She officially hated time travel. She wanted to forget the past. She wanted to forget the present. She didn't want the future to be real. It all hurt too much.

Lowering to the bottom, she gazed up and could see the surface flowing above her. The little ripples danced across the surface, the light joining it in a beautiful waltz. The waltz of life.

It had taken a long time for her to realize just how beautiful that waltz was. What else was there, after all? The dance of death lead to her father, and death was the only other option.

It was not, as you must have realized by now, that she never thought of what would happen if she was given the chance to do it all over again.

_But what else could I have done?_ she wondered, getting out of the bath. _Maybe quitting wasn't the best choice, but I couldn't stay. I would have gone crazy keeping all those emotions to myself!_

She conjured up a white silk robe and slipped into it. _It wasn't my fault_…_there was nothing else I could have done_…_I saved them all_…_didn't they realize that?_

_Didn't_ _they_ _care?_

It was not that she didn't have regrets. It was not that she hadn't sobbed over the thought of never seeing them again. It was not as if she didn't miss them dearly.

But forcing her to see them again, knowing she wasn't one of them anymore and could never be one of them again…

It didn't really help.

Hopeless tears began to fall from her eyes as she gazed at her reflection.

It was wrong. Everything she had done was wrong.

She loved her life, she was proud of what she had done with it, she was delighted to be free of Trigon, she loved singing and writing and acting.

Without her friends, none of it was real.

Lies. The mirror showed nothing but lies.

That beautiful woman with her piercing eyes and lily-white complexion should be a hideous beast. Without friends, all of that meant nothing.

She missed them. She missed Starfire and Cyborg and Beast Boy and Robin.

She didn't know if Cyborg had gotten over his inhumanity, or if Beast Boy had gotten a mind, or if Starfire and Robin were together already, or if Robin had become Nightwing yet.

She didn't know how they would feel if they saw her today, didn't know if they had gotten somebody to replace her, didn't know if they missed her, didn't know if they still remembered her.

Those people outside, they weren't real. Her past wasn't real. Her future wasn't real. Her accomplishments weren't real. _She_ wasn't real.

It was a **lie.All of it was a big _lie!_**

In a fit of passion, **Raven** punched the mirror which had showed her all of this. It shattered to pieces, some of them getting lodged in her palm.

She could hear the sound of them running towards the bathroom. Her hand was bleeding profusely, but she did nothing to stop the flow. Instead, she clenched her fist tight and sank to the marble floor. The Titans came in to find **Raven** sobbing on a floor covered in shards of glass, the crumpled silk of her bathrobe wet with blood and tears.

She looked up to see them staring in horror and jumped to her feet, dashing past them to run upstairs into _Raven_'s bedroom.

She wanted…

She wanted her friends, but they weren't her friends anymore.

She wanted to go home, but she couldn't.

She was trapped in a never-ending nightmare.

A nightmare full of lies.

Lies that were destroying her.


	7. Raven's Tale

**Raven A. Star: blinks  
  
O.M.G.  
  
Two things: Yes! Please send the email. Oo  
  
And second...OMG! That was awesome. So many video references (even though they were intentional). It was awesome. I loved this chapter, and I am so excited on what is going to happen next. Please continue! And update as soon as you can. **

_Priestess Aishisu: The chapter was strongly influenced by the Evanescence _Everybody's Fool_ music video. In the Mediaminer version _Broken,_ the chapter was actually a songfic to _Everybody's Fool. _For some reason, two of my best songfics are based on that song._

**mew**-**xena: 0.0 that was such a good chapter!oH. mY. gOSH! i can't believe how good taht was! I'M SERIOUS, IT WAS AN AMAZING CHAPTER! it was so well written! you could feel Raven's pain. and the mirror and election! brilliant! i am so happy the election is OVER! i LOVE THIS STORY! please try to update soon! **

_Priestess Aishisu: ::Gallant bow:: Thank you, thank you. I appreciate the compliments. And yes, you could feel it, couldn't you?_

**TheExcellenceOfExecution: I to am glad that the elections are over, though I won't say who I voted for. Anyway, this chapter was a really good one. Showing that she does in fact want her friends**--**her life back. Two thumbs up!  
  
Oh, you might wanna check out my story "Nobody Knows It But Me" for specific reasons.**

_Priestess Aishisu: The story was really good. But you might want to check on your C2 Community (it is yours, right?) Several of the fanfictions have nothing to do with Raven or Cyborg. In fact, at least three of them are about Terra and Beast Boy.)_

**BlackStorm: Priestess Aishisu,  
Great chapter. Kinda confusing, but good, none**-**the**-**less.  
  
BlackStorm**

_Priestess Aishisu: Thanks._

**BrassBanana: o...POOR RAVEN! She really needs her friends back because she's such a wreck (besides the wonderful singing, that is). I am looking forward to the next chappie...UPDATE ASAP...uhh, please?  
  
Have Fun!  
BrassBanana**

_Priestess Aishisu: Exactly! She's thrilled with her life, but without her friends she's still a wreck. She likes singing and all that, but she needs friends to really enjoy it._

**BlackShield: My, my... this looks a little familiar, I must say, but it's still good. "My, how the mighty hath fallen." The lies that protect us can suddenly turn against it. It really gives you a feel for how unstable our whole world is. A single flick, we go tumbling into space. A light touch, and we fall over. A gently tug, and we fall forward ass**-**over**-**teakettle. A single push, and we plummet over the edge of whatever it is that we call Sanity. Really makes one feel unstable; insecure; insignificant. But it's something we all think about **-** all NEED to think about once in a while. Once in a while, we need to see just how small we all are. We're even built to look unsteady; what other creature only uses two feet for balance? And even monkeys have tails to counterbalance. When we stumble, we have to put a foot forward... and there's no telling where it'll land...is there.  
  
...What the hell did I just write?  
  
Update when ya can.  
  
Daydreams, Firebeetles, and Midnight Suns-  
  
BlackShield**

_Priestess Aishisu: ::Eyebrow twitches:: Very good question. By the way, how many people can make something so philosophical capable of causing laughter._

**DarkGoddessRaven: good. hurry and continue.  
  
Imean Raven and Cyborg from the future.**

_Priestess Aishisu: I don't like hurrying._

**KageOni1: very good. I'm glad Raven finally realized the fact that she needed her friends back. But what are the new Titans doing about Raven going missing? AIA, a very good chapter.  
  
P.S. I'm not really happy about the election either. NADER ALL THE WAY!**

_Priestess Aishisu: I don't plan to tell anybody who I voted for unless they first tell me their vote and then ask me to tell mine, but_…_yeah. And what do you mean, what are they doing? She quit over a year ago, they don't even **know** she's missing!___

«§¥§»

**Cyborg**'s eyes widened and he jerked around, flipping off the DVD of **Raven**'s songs that he had been watching and/or listening to for hours. He had heard a crash—not that a crash was something that unusual, not around these parts. But he had also heard the sound of sobbing…

Raven's sobbing…

Shaking away that thought, he stood up and walked downstairs, jumping when he heard a scream coming from the bathroom.

«§¥§»

"Well, go talk to her, Beast Boy," said _Cyborg_.

"No way man," Beast Boy replied, staring up the tall staircase.

"What's the matter, chicken?" _Cyborg_ taunted, trying to squash his own emotions. Beast Boy shape-shifted into a chicken and clucked loudly.

"Well, go talk to her, Cyborg," said Robin.

"Uh, uh, boss."

"Well, why not?"

"I'm chicken."

The past Titans had been standing at the foot of the steps for at least an hour, the guys arguing over who would go up.

"Come on, Raven," said Robin, who had just been asked by Beast Boy. "She's **your** future self, and it was your task in the first place."

_Raven_'s eyebrow twitched, and for a moment Robin was worried she would blow something up—the reason he had waited so long to ask in the first place.

But she took a breath and seemed to calm down. "Fine," she said at last. "But you have to come. Just because I'm not some idiotic coward like you three doesn't mean I'm suicidal."

«§¥§»

"What happened here?" asked Nightwing, surveying the shards of glass on the floor and noting that several were smeared with blood.

"I–I do not know," admitted _Starfire,_ still shaken "I heard a crash and came into the bathroom to find the mirror had shattered."

"So that isn't your blood?" asked Larissa, appearing in the doorway with Changeling. _Cyborg_ was behind them, using his special vision to scan the blood.

_Starfire_ shook her head. "Then whose is it?" Changeling wanted to know.

_Cyborg_'s eyes widened. He recognized those DNA scans. They weren't human, and they weren't alien or tree or shape-shifter either. They were…

With a gasp, he turned and ran back upstairs.

«§¥§»

**Raven**'s tear-filled eyes narrowed when she sensed the old Titans coming upstairs. "Go away!" she screamed, clenching her fists and not even flinching when her perfectly manicured fingernails dug into the cuts from the glass shards. "Don't make me hurt you!"

"Just try," _Raven_ dared her, entering. "It's my room, too." Glancing around, she remarked, "I'm surprised this place is still intact."

"Trigon is dead in my time," **Raven** replied. "He has been for over a year." Her tears began again at the memory—not of the death itself, that was a cause for celebration, but more of the disaster which resulted from it. "What do you want?"

"Just to know what's wrong," _Raven_ replied coolly, wondering why the fact of Trigon's death would seem to distress her future self further.

**Raven** buried her head in the tear-drenched pillow, her bleeding hand dying _Raven_'s sheets red. "I miss my friends," she mumbled into the pillow.

_Raven_ blinked at her distraught future self quizzically. "We're going to get you back to your own time," she pointed out. "What are you so upset about?"

"Not that I don't want to get to my own time or anything, but it doesn't help that much seeing as how my time is a year after I quit."

_Raven_ gaped at her. "W–What?" she stammered, stunning eyes wide. "Why in the world would you want to quit the Titans?"

"I never said I _wanted_ to quit," she retorted, her grave face beautiful in spite of the tears which streamed over the pale skin. "I just said I **did."**

_Raven_ lifted a dark eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"

**Raven** tucked a lock of violet-and-black hair behind her ear, ignoring or not noticing the blood that her slender fingers and perfectly manicured fingernails smeared over her delicately plucked eyebrow and the lily-petal skin of her forehead.

_Someday I'll be able to look like a beautiful goddess while my face is bloody, my hair is wet, I've been sobbing for hours, and I'm wearing a wet blood_-_stained bathrobe, Raven_ mused wistfully. _But today, I don't look pretty no matter what happens._

She was wrong, of course, but she didn't know that. And at the moment, she happened to have more on her mind than beauty.

With a sigh, **Raven** murmured. "Fine. I'll tell you." She sighed and began.

"Over a year ago, less than 2½ years in the future for you, Trigon's control started to become really strong, more than in the past. I'm pretty sure that the reason was because—" she blushed. "Well, there was somebody I liked and I was afraid to say anything."

Shaking those thoughts away, **Raven** continued, "The Titans realized that something was wrong with me, of course—how couldn't they? They asked me what was wrong, but I couldn't tell them without Trigon taking over. So I didn't, and he took control."

Her eyes were glazed over with tears now, but she continued, "I'd rather not go into any of the details, but the battle wasn't pretty. He used me to open the gates between dimensions and let him enter this world, and of course his first attack was on Titan's Tower."

She took a shuddering breath before continuing. "I managed to destroy him permanently, but not without consequences. Titans Tower was almost completely destroyed, and the rest of the world was affected as well—Europe and part of Asia split away from the full continent, Scandinavia and Australia and part of India and Pakistan were destroyed, blah-blah-blah."

The old Titans were crowding the doorway, all wanting to hear more but none daring to enter the enchantress's dark and mysterious room—especially not if **Raven** were about to go into hysterics again.

"They blamed me." **Raven** looked away. "There was a huge argument, and I lost my temper. I was finally able to reveal my true feelings without killing somebody, and even I hadn't realized how long I had wanted to say any of these things."

Another long shuddery breath, tear after tear slipping from her grief-filled amethyst eyes.

"I _know_ I was right to be mad. I _know_ it wasn't my fault. I _know_ that, Trigon or no Trigon, hiding emotions that had been building up for almost seven years would have driven me mad. And I know that, after everything that had happened, staying would have caused more trouble. So I quit. There was nothing else I could have done."

She gazed up at the ceiling, the tears now dripping onto her already-drenched robe. "There was nothing else I could have done, but I'll regret my decision for the rest of my life."

"What happened after that?" _Raven_ asked, almost afraid to learn the answer but her curiosity outweighing her fear. "In the future Starfire saw you—I—we—went into deep depression or something but…"

"I **did** go into deep depression," **Raven** admitted, deciding that if they were going to know the Raven's tale they may as well know every feather. "At least for a few months. But things got better."

"I started publishing some of my stories and poetry, and I became a pretty famous angst writer. I turned some of the poems into songs, and some producer who heard me singing thought I was good. He wanted to know if I could sing in a movie he was starting, and it turned out to be one I wrote. And since it was basically my life narrowed down to symbols then the symbols turned into a different story, the acting was easy enough."

She looked down at her outfit and grimaced, but decided to ignore it. She could take another bath later.

"Next thing I knew, I was famous—a singer, an author, an actress, blah-blah-blah. I suppose I could have gotten caught up in it and let someone else control my life, but you must know me better by now. Under any other circumstances, my life would be perfect—and it almost is."

Then the tears started again, and she began sobbing into her hands. "But it **can't** be!" she shrieked, staring tearfully at her past self.

"It's **not real!** I have no friends, I have no family, there's no one I'm in love with, and I move from place to place too much to have any of these things! And now there's a concert coming up in Jump City and I've been so worried because I might have to **see** them, and I will go insane!"

_Raven_ waited to reply, not wanting to set the distraught beauty into hysterics again. Once the wracking sobs faded into a steady trickle of tears, she ventured, "Why not try to rejoin?"

**Raven** gave her one of the most piercing looks imaginable. "Have you not been paying attention? And you must know how much I under-exaggerate things! Some things don't change in four years, you know."

_Raven_ (damn, this italic/bold thing is getting annoying) hesitated, but replied, "You've obviously forgiven them, why wouldn't they do the same? You're telling me you think your friends—_our_ friends—could stay mad for over a year for something that isn't even your fault? In this time, Robin is the only one who doesn't know all about Trigon and Starfire is the only one who's never shown a sign of evil. They'll have to forgive you!"

**Raven** scowled. "This wasn't like when Cyborg quit," she hissed, tears still streaming down her beautiful face.

"That was a petty argument. This wasn't. You didn't see their faces. You didn't hear any of the cruel things they said—you didn't hear any of the angry things _I_ said. You didn't see the wreck that was caused, didn't see their faces when they thought it was entirely my fault."

"So what?" Beast Boy asked from the doorway, and both Ravens glanced up to see all the Titans standing there with compassionate expressions.

"It doesn't matter how awful the damage was, or how angry we were," _Cyborg_ continued. "We'll always want you around."

"He's right, Raven," Robin supplied. "We'd never want you to quit, no matter what. And we'd never turn you away if you wanted to rejoin."

"You are our friend, Raven," said _Starfire_ softly. "And nothing can ever change that. Do you not wish to be a Titan again?"

"Of course," **Raven** whispered, feeling the slightest stirrings of hope warming the cold emptiness within her. "I'd give anything to be Titan again."

Immediately warmth filled her. Energy lanced through her slender frame, and she felt suddenly disconnected from everything around her—she couldn't even feel the bed under her slim silk-draped legs. **Raven **lifted her graceful hands wonderingly. The torrent of bleeding had ceased, but that wasn't what she noticed. What she did notice was the blaze of magic around her hands.

Looking around, everything seemed to be disappearing. She tried to touch the bed but couldn't. And then she knew.

"Never quit the Titans!" she screamed, knowing somehow that her voice would be impossible to hear.

And then she was gone.


	8. Back To Jump City

Priestess Aishisu: Looking over reviews, I realized that I've received a lot of roses. (I received one just for the previous chapter!) So I'm giving them to reviewers who can guess what the hell just happened.

**Raven A. Star: Incredible. Just incredible. This chapter, so full of emotion got ME into tears when I was reading it. Oo **

So now Raven's heading back to her time. I hope the past Raven DOESN'T quit like the future one did. 

I do hope that the Titans in the future will take her back. And I hope you update very soon! XD

_Priestess Aishisu: Yes, she is. Congratulations for being the first reviewer, and the first to figure it out! ::Throws bouquets of roses at you::_

**TalonTheSky**-**Liner: This was a really great chapter, and we all appreciate your hard work in wanting to give us a good story. Two thumbs up high!**

_Priestess Aishisu: Thank you for being appreciative. When I think of all the things I could be doing besides writing fanfiction_…   
…   
_I'll think of something eventually._

**DarkGoddessRaven: OH god. This is getting good. Is Raven going back to her time?   
THis is getting good.   
So good that this is all I'm thinking of. **

Update whenever you can. 

_Priestess Aishisu: Yes, she is. Congratulations for being the second to figure it out! ::Tosses you a garland of roses::_

**afterdark: That was the best chapter. Period. I can't wait for the next part. Please update. Also, since Raven (past version) heard all that, does that mean she never quit, and that's why future Raven "dissapeared?" **

Update ASAP.   
afterdark

_Priestess Aishisu: Sorry, that's not what happened. Future Raven went back to her own time. But here, you can still have some rose petals._

**BlackShield: I really couldn't say how many... good question. We'll have to look into that, lol. Nice update **-** very powerful. Though it seemed a little overdramatic, the way she was in a silk bathrobe the whole time... ah well. 'Twas still very angsty, I know, it just didn't seem to hit me quite that way... not like the first chapter, or whenever it was... **

Anyway, I still like it a lot... Don't really understand why the mirror broke in the other universe, but then, I'm not the best at understanding those kinds of things, lol. In any case, hoping for another chapter soon. 

Daydreams, Firebeetles, and Midnight Suns-

BlackShield

_Priestess Aishisu: Yes, it was dramatic! She had been holding in these feelings for over a year! And the bathrobe was just because she was in too much pain to bother changing her clothes_…_not to mention the past Raven's clothes wouldn't have fit her._

**dark fire chain: awesome, awesome, awesome!   
Im listoning to evanescence now!   
update soon! **

P.s. i think the song is not lies but everybody's fool.

_Priestess Aishisu: I know what the song is called! The name is based on Raven's thoughts, not on the song she was singing._

**samuraistar::')   
Wow. That was beautiful, the ending. It was like she was trying to keep past Raven from making the mistake the present Raven made (sniff) That's just so pretty! "Never quit the Titans!" It just fit so beautifully. I have to say, Priestess Aishisu, you are a most admirable writer (bows) UPDATE, PLEASE!**

_Priestess Aishisu: ::Bows back:: Thank you._

**BlackStorm: Priestess Aishisu,   
I like it. Mystery. Good job. **

BlackStorm

_Priestess Aishisu: Thanks._

**RavenRulz14: AH! DIE, CLIFFHANGERS, DIE! Yeah, pwease update soon!(showers Priestess Aishisu with black roses and chocolate) Oh, just wondern', how do you say your pin name? Heh heh.(sweat drop)**

_Priestess Aishisu: ::Eats chocolate happily, puts roses with the thousands I still haven't given away:: Priestess I_-_she_-_zoo. My real name (which I like better, to be honest) is Adularia. Ah as in hallelujah, doo as in shoe, la as in the musical version, ree as in read, ah as in hallelujah again. But few people can remember that for some reason._

Priestess Aishisu: Another new character, but again not a Mary Sue. I just wanted Raven to have at least **one** friend without the Titans. She's also the relative of a character I didn't make up, but you don't find out yet. Black, pink, red, or white roses to anybody who can guess who she's related to!

«§¥§»

Raven (no more of those stupid italics and bolds when I'm writing names! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelu—shutting up now) blinked and surveyed her surroundings. She was in the apartment in Chicago.

_Was all that just a bad dream?_ She wondered, brushing her hair out of her eyes. Her hand stung and she looked down. It didn't have a drop of blood on it—but every line (you know, heart line and head line and life line and whatever else they may be) was a bright red scar.

_No, it wasn't a dream. _

Standing up, she stretched out with her senses and frowned. All the time she had spent in the past had passed in this time as well. Flicking a hand, she caught the small book which flew towards her. Flipping through it, her eyes widened and a smile curved her lips.

She had a hair appointment in twenty minutes (she wanted it completely black to look more natural) and then…and then…

And then she was going to Jump City!

«§¥§»

To say he was bewildered would be a hideous understatement. Same with stunned, disbelieving, and a little in pain emotion-wise.

First finding out that Raven was a singer, then that he would actually be going to one of her concerts, then this whole deal with the shattered mirror and Raven's blood…

It was becoming too much.

Cyborg strummed at his guitar, sitting on the couch and picturing both the grim ethereal girl he had fallen in love with and the beautiful woman he had been seeing everywhere recently—posters, billboards, CD covers, videos, the newspaper…

Everything.

_I miss you so much, Raven,_ he thought sadly. _Do you miss me? Do you even remember me? You certainly did pretty well without us_…_I didn't even know you knew how to sing._

"_I still remember_ _your face   
Warm_ _as the flames_ _in the fireplace   
While I frowned_ _you would laugh and_ _smile   
Inside I_ _was smiling all the while"_

He blinked at the sound of the melodic, ethereal voice that he had become so accustomed to in the last several hours. Standing up, he walked upstairs to find Larissa listening to one of her CDs.

The vivid green tissue of her skirt floated around her as she danced with inhuman grace and skill, singing softly. Though he was ashamed to admit it, Cyborg was glad it was soft because—though she did have a lovely voice—she could never measure up—not to Raven.

No one could.

"_I know I never showed it   
I told you to_ _stay_ _out of my hair   
And now I_ _regret that I never   
Let you know how much_ _I really did care" _

Larissa stopped dancing and looked at the door. "Hi, Cyborg," she said with a smile, shutting off the music. Cyborg resisted the urge to groan.

"Why were you listening to that?"

"Because Raven is the best singer in the world! And she's coming to Jump City! We're actually going to her concert! But don't get me started, I could go on for hours."

"No, that's all right, really," he replied. "If I'm going to listen to her singing, I need to know more about her, right?"

"Well, not that much is known about her past. She's an orphan, and she used to be a super-heroine. I thought that wasn't real, but you know how I can see for miles? I saw her use her powers on a member of the press spreading rumors about her. She is so cool!"

Her eyes seemed to glow. "She writes stories and poems and the movie she stars in, and some of her songs—but not all of them. She has her own line of clothing and like three houses—not including her summer home in Europe. _Europe_ Can you imagine?"

Actually, he could. Cyborg listened eagerly, sucking up every bit of information she could give, but there was one bit of information he dreaded:

_Has_ _she_ _had any_ _boyfriends?_

«§¥§»

_Home, sweet home,_ Raven thought as she stepped off the plane. In spite of herself, the thought filled her with deep sorrow. It had been her home for so long, but it didn't feel like home anymore.

"I am _so_ happy we're in Jump City. My sister Karen said she would be visiting. I can't wait to show her that she isn't the best anymore!"

Raven turned to see Diana Beecher, her dancer and fashion designer. She was one of Raven's few friends and one of the few people not unnerved by her powers—according to her, her sister Karen was a heroine as well, and she herself could fly and she had some minor fire powers (she never got warm or cold, she could never get burned, etc.)

Like all her dancers, Diana had long black hair and was very beautiful. Though her denim jacket hid skin that her flame-red top would otherwise leave bare, her denim miniskirt exposed most of her flawless legs.

Her abundance of dark hair was pinned up with shimmering rubies set in lacy gold, accented by matching earrings and bracelets. On Raven, who preferred silver to gold and hated red for…psychological reasons (the gem had turned blazing white once Trigon was defeated) the outfit would have felt wrong.

On Diana it was stunning. She was like sunlight, the complete opposite of Raven. Raven was dressed in a black off-the-shoulder-top, diamond earrings, and a silver necklace set with diamonds. Her beauty was quieter, more moonlight than sunlight. The same difference was evident in her personalities.

Diana wasn't cheerful all the time, and she was nothing at all like Starfire, but her full red lips smiled easily and her almond-shaped eyes always seemed to be full of laughter.

Out of everybody Raven had met in the last year or so, Diana was probably her favorite.

"Some of Karen's friends live there, so she said that she would visit too. I think she just wants to see me make a fool of myself." She grinned. "Won't she be surprised—she's not the best sister anymore!"

Raven smiled in spite of herself—Diana's cheer was infectious, no matter how miserable she was—and wondered if 'Karen' was a member of the branch of Teen Titans called _Titans East_ or whatever it was. Diana did highly resemble one of their members…

"When are the limos going to arrive?"

"I don't know. These things are soo annoying—but then again I guess we would probably get swarmed with fans without them. They've really been packing on the publicity, since you refused for any pictures of you to be shown in Jump City or Manhattan for a year."

She said this archly, eyebrows raised, and Raven suppressed a groan.

Diana had wanted to do a concert there the moment she joined (she was the designer before she became a singer—it was thanks to her that Raven had her own line of shoes, her own line of shirts, and her own line of dresses. She also had her own line of hair products, but that had nothing to do with Diana) and was very curious as to why Raven didn't want to be seen in Jump City.

Looking into large hazel eyes set in a strong-boned face the color of brown honey, Raven thought about what a good friend she was—the only friend she had in the world, now that she was no longer a Titan.

"Well, I could teleport us," she suggested mildly. "That is, if you don't mind sharing an apartment with me. They're always at least the size of a small mansion, so I'm sure you can fit in it."

Diana stared at her, seeming stunned. Then she grinned, as Raven knew she would. "Sure!"

«§¥§»

One of the first things Raven had learned when coming to Earth was that no one noticed ugly people. Well, Raven was anything but ugly, but she could fake it.

Over her black off-the-shoulder, silver jewelry, and sexy jeans; she put on sweats which hid her figure and lustrous hair (it had a hood). She used make-up to give herself gray skin and shadows under her eyes, and magic to make her features less pretty and the stone look like a scar.

But less pretty was still pretty, and she couldn't change her eyes without making them **more** prominent instead of less. So she kept her head bowed and made eye contact with no one as she walked down the street.

In her hands she held a movie script she had written on the plane, based on a book she had published a few months ago.

It was about an unpopular outcast who had no friends and tried to kill herself, ending up in a coma in which she dreamed she was living in a wonderful fantasy world in which she was a world-famous singer.

In the original version she woke up and fell into a deep depression, only to realize she had to start living in reality. She made friends with another outcast (based very slightly on Diana, but a different personality and appearance) and eventually got over it.

But Raven had changed it (which was good, since it was a huge book.) In the movie version, the outcast (Jessica) had two friends named Sam and Vanessa (a black brother and sister, based on Cyborg and Diana) and when she went into the coma she became a world-famous singer (it would be an excuse for a lot of songs)

At first she loved it, but eventually she realized that she was in love with Sam. With it came the realization that the fantasy, no matter how perfect, lacked one thing—real friends who liked her for who she was.

She went into a depression, but couldn't kill herself because she was already in a coma. Her sorrow turned into self-hatred, and Raven planned to use her magic to create a filming of the mirror-smashing thing and edit it so her hair was completely black.

Meanwhile, Sam and Vanessa (the two friends) were trying to find a remedy for the pills Jessica had purposely overdosed on. Sam realized he was in love with her and, kneeling by her body, sang a song that, in the fantasy world, she was singing as well.

Then she woke up, and all three of them sang a song together.

In case you were wondering, it was based on her life. Except in the movie, it was a nightmare disguised as a fantasy. Her life was also a nightmare disguised as a fantasy, but it was real—a lie, but still real. And in the movie, there was a happy ending.

Raven sighed and glanced around, not letting her eyes linger and not looking up—she knew she would see a picture of herself, and that was the last thing she wanted to see.

Everywhere there were happy, laughing people. No one noticed her, of course, though if she stared at anyone for too long they might have.

She noticed couples everywhere. A graceful girl with long flaxen hair held out a cake to a handsome man with red hair and eyes as blue as Cyborg's.

He ate it from her hand, their eyes never leaving one another. The sight made her heart ache with longing.

She shook her head and started walking faster. She was going to show a new movie idea to New York's biggest producer—she knew he would use it, since anything she did would be an immediate hit by now.

Entering the building, she noticed a picture of her. It was for one of her older movies, a horror based on one of the earliest storied she had ever written—back when she was still a Titan.

Blinking back tears, she shed her disguise and ran very quickly to the producer's office.

«§¥§»

"It's perfect," New York's best movie producer announced after reading the movie Raven had finished writing on the plane. "They weren't kidding about you."

"I was thinking I could do it in Jump City, since it's the only place in the galaxy that hasn't heard of me this past year," Raven said, running slender fingers through her beautiful new hair. That was the best part—it would give her an excuse to stay for a long time. "We could take a few pictures of it now, and put it up all around New York."

"You're just as brilliant as I heard," the man replied approvingly. "I thought they were exaggerating about your talents, but thank god I prepared anyway, just in case."

Looking at the script again, he asked, "It has to be a black man?"

Raven nodded. "If you've heard that much about me, you must know that all my boyfriends in every movie or show I've done have been black."

Most people thought it was a strike against black oppression or something like that—actually, it was because she wouldn't be able to kiss a _white_ man and pretend it was Cyborg. It was hard enough pretending that a **black** man was him.

"The dressing room is right there," he pointed. "I'll have some men get a couch from the storage room, and for pills…are my headache pills all right?"

"If you don't mind them scattered on the floor."

"For you? Not at all."

Raven was quick—one of the many advantages of magic powers. She put on her earlier outfit, splashing a few droplets of water on the sweater so it seemed as if she had cried on it.

Pushing back her hood, she used a touch of waterproof make-up to make herself pale as death and looking as if she had been weeping for hours. With her magic, she put her hair in eighty braids, soaked them, unbraided them, and dried them.

There! Now all she needed was to cry.

She could use an illusion, or water, or make-up to make her eyes sting, but instead she simply pictured the words the Titans had said to her that made her quit—it worked every time.

Tears poured from her eyes immediately, and she stumbled towards the door. It was impossible to see clearly, but she had powers so it didn't matter.

She was handed a bottle and unscrewed the lid. She lay on the couch, eyes shut, tears streaming down her cheeks, letting pills pour from the bottle. _Snap! Snap! Snap!_ went the cameras.

She stretched and curled up, rolled over again and again, crossed and uncrossed her legs. The camera men lapped it up hungrily, and she hoped she would be able to see when this was over.

"Perfect!" announced the producer after a few minutes. Raven sat up, rubbing her streaming eyes. Between the light spots and tears, she was half-blind and would have been whole-blind if it weren't for her magic. "We can take the other pictures tomorrow, all right?"

He waited anxiously, obviously having heard that Raven was not one who could be controlled by producers and agents. But Raven nodded, hiding a smile.

Phase One and Two of her plan was complete—now she would have months and months in Jump City to complete the next few phases.


End file.
